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THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
School of Information
PATHFINDER EVALUATION SHEET
Annotated
Make sure you add a cover sheet. See the course policies.
Make sure that you indicate direct quotations if you draw five
or more words from a source. See the course policies.
While you need to cite sources, your annotations in the
bibliography cannot be only a quoted passage. See the course
policies.
Bibliography: inconsistent style and punctuation will result in
deductions. Note especially capitalization within titles.
The pathfinder or last two pages must be limited to two pages.
5=excellent; 4=very good; 3=good; 2=weak; 1=poor; 0=no credit
HIGH MIDDLE LOW
TOTAL
5 4
3 2
1 0
PART I: INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL
A. Is the topic related to the project? ____ ______ ____
*Choose your topic from the list or clear it with me.
B. Is the topic narrow enough to be
well covered in 15-25 sources?
____ ______
*If your topic is broad (e.g., “Rock Music,” then carefully
select your sources.
C. Is a statement of the nature of the
topic included? (1-2 paragraphs)
____ ______ ____
*Here is where you answer the question: what is your topic?
Provide concise background on the topic and resist writing more
than one or two paragraphs. For example, if your pathfinder is
about a musical genre, this paragraph should cover background on
this topic, including something about the history of this topic
and why it is important today
D. Is the scope of project clearly
defined? . . . . . . . . . . . . .
____ ______ ____
*Scope refers to how much of the topic you are covering. Are
you covering the entire history of your topic? If your topic is a
specific musician, will your pathfinder cover his or her life and
focus on his connections with Ian McLagan? If your topic is about
a musical genre, are you covering historical information as well
as information about the musical form today?
E. Is the intended audience clearly defined and reasonable given the nature
of the topic? . . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*Your intended audience may be the general public, fans of
the music genre or musician, educators, undergraduate or graduate
students."
F. Are the questions the patron might
want answered identified rather than
the sources that might provide info.?
(statement of information needs)
____ ______ ____
*Here is where you imagine what sort of questions your
audience might have. At this point it is best NOT to respond with
statements such as “The patron will need a dictionary. The patron
will need an electronic database.” For example, in a pathfinder
about a specific music genre, you might answer the questions,
What is skiffle? When did it start? Which musicians are
affiliated with this style? What does it sound like? What
instruments are involved. You might mention some key recordings
here. Questions on a pathfinder about a musician might answer
questions such as: (1) I would like to identify a listing of her
recordings; (2) Where can I locate reviews of his performances?;
(3) Help me locate information about her life. Make sure, though,
that you do not provide too much information here—you have a lot
of questions to answer in your introduction!.
G. Is the type of library for which
the pathfinder is intended clearly
stated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*Your patron will have access to electronic resources and
their local library. Their local library might include a school
library, academic library, and/or public library.
H. Are the criteria used in selecting
sources listed? (Why include some
types of sources and not others.)
____ ______ ____
*How did you make your selections in your bibliography? Bopp
and Smith (Reference and Information Services: An Introduction)
identify these criteria for evaluating reference sources: Format,
Scope, Relation to Similar Works, Authority, Treatment, Special
Features, Cost. Remember: you might have used several of these
criteria. I would add currency as a criterion. And, you’ll need
to define how you interpreted these criteria. For example, if you
used authority as a criterion, how did you define it? Did you
include sources by reputable publishers such as university
presses? Students base their selections on more than one
criterion.
I. Is it clear how sources were
selected: Is a chronology of steps
taken in locating sources provided? ____ ______ ____
*What steps did you take in your search for sources? What
did you do first to locate your sources? You can mention the
titles of some of the sources you included in your bibliography.
Do not provide full citations here; titles are sufficient. You
will not have room to include full citations and the reader can
examine your bibliography for the full citations. Make sure that
you spell out UT at your first use: The University of Texas at
Austin Libraries (UT Libraries). Only include citations to
sources—including books—that you examined. If you were unable to
examine a given source, then leave it off of your bibliography
and pathfinder.
J. Are the subject headings used in the
search for sources listed? . . . . ____ ______ ____
*What search terms did you use? Students often list the
subject headings they used in quotation marks.
K. Does the intro. stay to 1-2 pages?
(double spaced; 250 words per page) ____ ______ ____
*Remember to double space. I will deduct points for
introductions that are less than or more than 500 words.
L. Does the student avoid using right
justification? . . . . . . . . . .
____ ______ ____
*Use a ragged right hand margin.
M. Writing style: clarity; choice of
words; punctuation; variety; word
usage; grammar; spelling; spell out
contractions; avoid weak connectives
like however . . . . . . . . . . . . ___ ______ ____
*Remember to use a spell check. You might read your
introduction aloud to see if it sounds logical and clear.
N. Are statements supported by documentation, when needed? . . . . . . . . .____ ______ ____
*Remember to use quotation marks (“ “) to indicate that you
have borrowed five or more words from a source. Then, follow the
guidance of your style manual to add a footnote to the bottom of
page two. Avoid over quoting as the annotations should be your
voice.
O. Do citations appear at the bottom of
the introduction? . . . . . . . . . .____ ______ ____
PART II: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Are style manuals cited for both
print and electronic sources? . . . .____ ______ ____
B. Are style manuals indicated and
correctly and completely cited?
____ ______ ____
*You can cite one style manual if it provides you with
advice on how to cite electronic sources.
C. Is an adequate number of sources
included? (15 to 25) . . . . . . .
____ ______ ____
*Remember to number your sources. Do not number the citation
for your style manual.
D. Are selections reasonable (see scope,
audience, and type of library)? . . ____ ______ ____
*This is a judgment call on my part.
E. Do selections represent an appropriate
variety of types of sources? . . .
____ ______ ____
*Include a variety of formats—electronic sources, print, and
so forth. You may cite Wikipedia once!
F. Do the selections focus on major reference
sources rather than just a listing of
monographs and journal articles?
____ ______ ____
*Remember that indexes to articles are useful and allow the
pathfinder to ‘live’ longer. Consider indexes that cover subject
areas that touch on your topic.
G. Has complete bib. info. been given? ____ ______ ____
*Follow your style manual as a guide.
H. Has good bib. form been used
consistently? . . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
I. Are all the sources annotated? . . . ____ ______ ____
*You will add an annotation or brief description to each of
the 15 to 25 sources in your bibliography. These descriptions
should include the following information. Make sure that you use
quotation marks to denote content that you borrow from another
source. The best approach is to put the content in your own words
and to not overly rely on quotations. The annotations cannot be
simply cutting and pasting content from other sources. Use
quotation marks also when you are borrowing content from a
website such as a database description. In addition to using “ “,
you will need to cite the source of this information to a
footnote at the end of your bibliography.
J. Do annots. clearly describe the
subject and scope of the source?
____ ______ ____
*Your annotations include four short sentences. This is
sentence one: what is this source about? How much of this topic
does the source cover (scope)? If you include, for example, a
subject encyclopedia then this sentence is general statement
about this encyclopedia. You will address how this encyclopedia
provides information on your topic in the following sentences.
K. Do annots. indicate how the source
is related to the pathfinder topic? ____ ______ ____
*Sentence two of your annotation: how is this source
connected to your topic? For example, if you include a general
index, how is this source related to your topic?
L. Do annots. point out why a patron
would find the source useful? . . . ____ ______ ____
*This is sentence three of your annotation.
M. Do annots. indicate how to access
information in the source (e.g.,
appropriate subject terms to use)?
____ ______ ____
*This is sentence four of your annotation.
N. Are annotations well written (sentence
clarity, variety, word usage, grammar,
punctuation, spelling)? . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*Vary how you begin your annotations. Avoid starting each
annotation with the words: “This [source, book, website] . . .”
O. If call numbers are given, are they
correct? . . . . . . . . . . . . .
____ ______ ____
*You won’t want to include call numbers since patrons may
use your pathfinder in a variety of libraries.
P. Are sources numbered? . . . . . .
____ ______ ____
*Yes, number your sources. It is best to have a running
number, from 1 to 15 or 25.
Q. Is numbering consecutive? . . . .
____ ______ ____
R. Is this section within 4-8 pages?
(Can be single spaced) . . . . . .
____ ______ ____ _____
*You can single space the entries, including the annotation,
and double space between entries 1-15/25.
PART III: PATHFINDER
A. Is there a `scope note' or other definition
of the subject for the patron? (may not
be needed if the title of the pathfinder
is descriptive) . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*In most circumstances you will want to add this scope note.
Students usually provide an abbreviation of the first paragraph
of their introduction.
B. Is the purpose of the pathfinder
clear? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*You can accomplish this through adding a sentence to your
scope note.
C. Have appropriate selections been
made from the bibliography? . . . . ____ ______ ____
*I will make a judgment call, given the sources you included
in your bibliography. Remember: you won’t have room to include
all of the sources from your bibliography on your pathfinder.
D. Are all the sources included in the
bibliography? (NOTE: all sources in
the bibliography need not appear in
the pathfinder.) . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*Remember our discussion in class. You will list and
describe 15 to 25 top sources in your bibliography. You will make
selections from this list to include in the pathfinder.
E. Are sources arranged in a meaningful
way so the user understands the
concepts behind finding material on
the topic? . . . . . . . . . . . .
____ ______ ____
*Students often use the question/answer approach in
presenting the sources in the bibliography. I also look to see if
you have added instruction. Are you explaining why these sources
are important? Ask yourself several questions in preparing the
pathfinder section. Why are you selecting this source from your
bibliography? Why are you placing this citation at this point in
the pathfinder? Why would you tell your client to use this
source?
F. Are transitions used that lead the
patron through the pathfinder? . . . ____ ______ ____
*In a question/answer format, the questions can lead the
patron through the pathfinder. Make sure that you also explain
the process of searching.
G. Is the text library jargon-free?
____ ______ ____
*Consider how you are using library/librarian terminology.
This even includes words like “resources.”
H. Is there sufficient white-space to
make the text easy to read? . . . . ____ ______ ____
*The pathfinder document should not look crowded with text.
If you cite indexes, you will likely cite the title and indicate
that the patrons need to check with their local library to see if
their library subscribes to these indexes and databases.
I. Originality . . . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*Judgment call.
J. If call numbers are given, are they
correct? . . . . . . . . . . . . .
____ ______ ____
*You won’t be including call numbers. Instead, I’ll check
your URLs.
K. Does the pathfinder "save the time
of the client"? . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*Is your pathfinder easy to follow?
L. Does the pathfinder serve as a
library instruction device? . . . . ____ ______ ____
*The pathfinder is a great opportunity to provide some
instruction. In addition to identifying a source, you can provide
some idea on how to locate it and how to use it.
M. Is this section within 2 pages?
(Can be single spaced) . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
N. Is there an appropriate closure to
the pathfinder? . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*Make sure you have some closing statement at the bottom of
page 2.
O. Is the pathfinder well written
(sentence clarity, variety, word
usage, grammar, punctuation,
spelling)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*Make sure that you use “” to designate content that you
borrowed from some place. Do not overuse direct quotations,
though; your pathfinder should not be a cut-and-paste of text
found elsewhere.
P. Does the student=s name also appear
on the pathfinder? . . . . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
Q. Is the pathfinder dated? . . . . . . ____ ______ ____
*The date for the pathfinder is the date you submit your
work to me.
OTHER COMMENTS THAT MAY BE CONSIDERED IN THE CALCULATION OF
YOUR GRADE. See the course policies.
NOTE: Five points will be deducted OFF THE TOP from
each sentence that is drawn too closely from a source.
IS THE PATHFINDER TOPIC APPROPRIATE?
percent.
IF NOT, DEDUCT 10-50
Does the student select resources that would be available to
the client? If not, deduct 1 percent point for each source.
WAS THE PATHFINDER SUBMITTED LATE? IF SO, DEDUCT 20% FOR
EACH DAY (24 hours) LATE.